Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Roslynn Watson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Roslynn , appreciate you joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

A moment that changed my trajectory was when a black woman in the field of mental health and wellbeing called me a colleague. She noted my skills in the teaching, supporting, recruiting and helping peers with mental health and substance abuse challenges. She invited me to one of her group sessions and later told me that her clients share more when I am there. I have been working in this field as a semi-professional for decades. People often came to me for unbiased nonjudgemental support. They would tell me how much I had helped them, but many years later when a professional called me colleague my inner spirit leaped. I felt seen. I have been positioning myself and adding education to my experience ever since. Education was always a part of my plan, but that recognition validated what I’ve always new deep inside of myself. I am presently seeking a BA in Psychology and a Licensed Independent Social Worker as my Masters, specializing in trauma, specifically family trauma where I have experience.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I got into this industry in two ways. One, my personal family trauma with my lifelong journey to unapologetic self-love, and two, my youngest brother, who has epilepsy and my father placed me in charge of him at school and assisting him at home. He and I are close to this day. He was being bullied at school, so I would protect him. Watch over him. File complaints to the principal on his behalf. He was shy.

As I supported him, he asked me to help is best friend too. Then it became their best friends and so on. Next thing I know, I’m watching over a group of special education students protecting them from bullies. I continued to advocate for special education students. I taught in diverse ways, their Student Rights. I helped them file complaints or talked to their parents about what I observed in their classrooms and on the playground. That was my beginning. My father was an activist for education, housing, and youth. I added to that, affordable housing, affordable education, living wage positions, and affordable medical. Affordable is defined by the person who desires these things. If their desire from public organizations or businesses isn’t affordable for them, then, if they want, we gather others and go into activism mode.

I still work in these areas but do it through a mental health awareness and lived experienced lens. My first business was a 501c3 titled Friends & Families United to Network for Housing, Corp. The acronym was F2UNH, and was pronounced, Fun! This program was for the youth. I emoted the empowerment of clear expression of how one feels about a situation, then provided vehicles of expression, as I learned of them, from community group exploration for personal recovery to legislative and corporation activism. I educated myself and offered what I learned to whomever wanted the information. I tailored that information to whomever asked.

Later I started my second business, Renewed Mind, Sole Proprietor. I work under this umbrella now. From a little girl I was being trained for leadership in societal short comings for the people who are unseen through business and education. In otherwards, how to live the life of a black woman in a world that doesn’t value her. Over the past 9 years, my focus has been trauma recovery from mental issues because I learned that from the beginning of one’s lifespan, if one is mistreated and have not sought to recover from that trauma, it will definitely have a profound negative affect on that person and the ones around them. The degree of the affect depends on how deep and unresolved the trauma. The moto for my business, Renewed Mind is “Pain not transformed is Transferred”. And yes, I’m making T-shirts!

I have a webpage, Renewed-mind.com. I am in the process of updating it. I will be selling merchandise. I will have: Mediation Road: Wellness activities; Writing Sessions: Pain not transformed is transferred; Book Club: Community of Renewed Minds; and Therapy’s in Art, Music, Coloring, Drawing, and a Washington State Certified Peers corner. This will be offered on a national level. Some of it will be free and the rest paid subscription or cost, i.e., merchandise.

I am a black woman, raised in Southern practices and part in Nordic family culture, with decades of effective leadership, activism and trauma recovery. I have lived experience in trying to be seen, heard, healed, accepted, and respected for my area of gifts, talents and expertise. This is viewed through a trauma informed lens from childhood through adulthood, and now coming into my late years. I help those who choose to work with me to be empowered, held accountable, respectfully offer support using personal and evidenced based materials. I am a forever learner, and I will always give to my peers who want the support. I am not perfect, but I am honest about me.

I am most proud of the fact that I understand the work that I do is client driven. One of the moto’s that I have adopted from a Peer organization in Washington State, that I am a part of is, “Nothing for us, without Us!”.
Nothing for Me without Me, drives me personally and when I work with participants it is, Nothing for Them without Them!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

In my pursuit of mental health recovery, I discovered that my desire for approval, especially my fathers was of non-effect. It was nice to have, but I needed to approve myself. I needed to look at my life’s work and experience, then view as though I was looking at a peer. When I began to do that, I had to sit with the knowledge that the person was me. Everything that I would say to that peer regarding the personal and public accomplishments was me! I am still working on that. I am still in operation of settling with the truth about me. My best accomplishment though, was recognizing that I didn’t need my father’s approval. I would be nice to have, but it wasn’t needed.

What I needed was to lay out my accomplishments, one at a time, and take it in. Take in how I began, and all the trials and hope with completing it. I brought out everything. from thank you trophies as a den mother for my boy’s baseball team to The Golden Tennis Shoe award by Congresswoman Patty Murray of Washington State to my acceptance in the National Honor Society through my branch at the University of Washington, Tacoma, National Society of Leadership and Success. Bottom line is, I hold the stamp of approval over my life. Me and Jesus!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I have always loved learning and reading. My junior high and high school counselors were no help to me. The high school counselor, after I told him that I wanted to a lawyer, told me that I needed to be realistic. I won’t be more than a housekeeper. In both segments of school, I had to find out the requirements for graduation and signed up for classes that way. I graduated junior high and high school with at least a 3.00 gpa. I was told by my parents’ contradictory information. Dad said they could help me get to college, but I would have to obtain a job and my stepmother said that they could not afford to pay for college. Mind you, they paid for my older brother and sister. They had scholarships, but my parents paid for the rest. So, I had to wait for a year to show that I was on my own. Then I applied for school on my own. I got into a 2-year college. I studied Criminal Justice. I did very well in my studies.

My classmates called me textbook, even though they would not work with me in groups. I was working with an attorney who argued, and won, a case before the supreme court. I put together files and like files for his argument. It set precedent. On the day of my finals, I was hit by a car. It totaled my vehicle. An older white woman hit me. She asked me to pull over to a certain spot, and would I call the police. I walked from the freeway to town and called the police, only to find out someone already called, and they said that I left the scene of the accident. I told them what the woman said, and they told me that there were conflicting reports. She also told me that the woman had called the police. I rushed back to find the woman and the state patrolman telling me that I hit the woman. He decided that the position of my car proved that. As I tried to convey my story, he said that I was lying. The white woman smirked at me. I went into warfare through prayer. I felt as though I was in a southern state like Mississippi. He gave me a ticket and I left to ask for a family member to take me home. I had to go to the hospital for my injuries.

I returned to school, went through the proper channels and was told that my instructor had the authority over my taking the final, but with my documentation I should be fine to take it. My instructor said no and told me to retake the 2-year course again. Even with all of my proof she denied me and the school said that they couldn’t help me. I had a lawyer who’s practice I was going to join but couldn’t because I didn’t complete my final.

My stepmother was a teacher. I learned, once I applied to her graduated school that she never signed for the free ride that I would get from there. I learned about it when the recruiter called to find out what happened, and that day was the last day. I discovered that my mom was telling us two different things. My mom would get home too late to sign the paperwork and I couldn’t do it. At that time I was studying Criminal Justice and Education.

I left my home after my dad made the craziest statement. He said, “You have that Holy Ghost”! Then he bargained with me in offerings against my up bringing and character. I refused the offer, left home and never returned to live. I was coerced into marriage, had one child and 18 months later spent 3 days recovering from abuse and marital rape after giving birth to twins. During that pregnancy I was made a ward of the court because I had no place to go. No one in my church nor my parents would help me. Of course, I fearfully divorced him.

I finally obtained, while raising my 3 children, my transfer degree in education and sociology. I went to a 4-year college where I am presently in pursuit of a BA in Psychology and a MASW specializing as a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and Peer Specialist in education and curriculum writing. I have been fighting for my education since 4th grade. I am now much older and I’m still fighting. I’m fighting through domestic rape and abuse, religious abuse, family trauma (still). All for the right for an education. Now that education comes through a mental health lens. I am a poster child for Perserverance and resiliency. I’m on the wall with many others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://renewed-mind.com
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/roslynn-watson-383866bb

Image Credits

Roslynn Watson